Beijing&Shanghai: Quarantine international arrivals and bills...

Beijing will quarantine all international arrivals for 2 weeks in medical treatment stations starting Monday, local authorities said Sunday, as China steps up measures against coronavirus cases coming from overseas.

People arriving from abroad had previously been allowed to undergo a mandatory two-week quarantine at home, but now only those in "special circumstances" will be exempted from being sent to facilities where they must pay for their own stay. 

The designated medical treatment stations are staffed with professional medical workers to carry out health monitoring. Those who falsely report information, conceal a disease or cause the spread of the epidemic will be punished according to the regulations, Beijing Daily reported Sunday.

The picture shows the Gate 3 entrance to the new China International Exhibition Centre, a temporary distribution point. [Photo by Xu Jingxing/chinadaily.com.cn]

All international arrivals in Beijing will be required to be isolated at designated facilities even if they do not have coronavirus symptoms, starting from today, 16th, March, Monday.

The spending for such isolation will be covered by the travelers themselves, said Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, at a press conference on Sunday.

On very special occasions and after assessment, some of them may be quarantined at home.

The decision has been made as the COVID-19 epidemic accelerates overseas.

Imported cases have become the main risk to the efforts to control the epidemic in Beijing and they are the majority of new cases in the municipality, she said.

Travelers who plan to pass the Chinese border check in Beijing and are bound for Beijing municipality should contact the local community in Beijing in advance to get related consultation and report their situation so that related services can be provided efficiently.

Imported COVID-19 cases have continued to grow and totaled 23 in Beijing between February 29 and Saturday, said Wu Guo'an vice-president of Beijing Ditan Hospital. They are aged 27.6 on average and include nine males.

Uninsured visitors coming to Shanghai from abroad will have to pay their own medical bills

Medical expenses of inbound visitors from overseas to Shanghai infected with the novel coronavirus will mostly be covered by the patients' insurance or the patients themselves if they don't have any related insurance, said the city's health authority on Sunday.

According to Zheng Jin, a spokeswoman with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission:

1. people who are covered by the country's universal health insurance will have part of their bills paid as specified by the insurance policy. The rest of the amount, which according to the regulations was to be covered by individuals, will be covered by subsidy from the municipality.

2. Those who don't have the universal insurance will have to pay their own medical bills in the treatment of the virus infection. Those who buy commercial insurance are covered by their specific insurance companies, in accordance to the contract.

3. For those who don't have any medical insurance and are confirmed to have difficulty paying their bills will receive medical aid according to the law.

"Shanghai will follow the national policy on this issue," Zheng said on the routine press conference on the containment of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Shanghai.

China's airports maintain strict prevention controls

during pandemic

In the picture, many ambulances and a group of customs quarantine staff, police and airport staff in protective suits were on standby next to an Air China airplane at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, on March 13.

This photo of epidemic control and prevention workers waiting next to an inbound flight went viral on Chinese social media.

This photo of epidemic control and prevention workers waiting next to an inbound flight went viral on Chinese social media.

Passengers with a fever found on flight CA 936

Flight CA936 from Frankfurt, Germany to Shanghai landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:37 p.m. on March 13. The flight had 286 passengers, including six infants and 17 crew members. What made this flight stand out was that four of its passengers had a fever, and two others had been taking cold medicine. 

As soon as they were notified, the Shanghai COVID-19 Prevention and Control Headquarters responded immediately. The body quickly reached out to other related departments, including the port, disease control center and medical groups, and executed its prevention and control plan.

Eight Shanghai customs officers conduct on-the-spot quarantine and take the body temperatures of the passengers on the flight twice. (Photo: CGTN)

After onboard checks by customs officers, the six passengers, all Chinese, and their four companions completed their entry procedures on the airport apron and were taken to designated medical institutions in ambulances. Another 30 passengers who had close contact with fevered passengers on the flight were delivered to quarantine sites for medical observation.

A second circular further clarifying the preventive and control measures for all passengers and crew on flight CA936 was published later that evening. The remaining 246 passengers disembarked in batches of 40 and took the airport bus to the terminal to complete the relevant epidemiological investigations and customs clearance procedures in accordance with the prevention and control requirements for entry quarantine. 

A member of the prevention and control team sprays disinfectant on a passenger's luggage at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. (Photo: CGTN)

New policy to prevent importation of COVID-19

With COVID-19 now reaching pandemic levels, many airports in China have implemented strict customs clearance procedures and epidemiological investigations to prevent the reintroduction of the virus via someone returning to China from overseas.

On Thursday, the Shanghai COVID-19 Prevention and Control Headquarters announced that starting March 13, all Chinese and foreigners who had lived or been to South Korea, Italy, Iran, Japan, France, Spain, Germany, America, etc. within the last two weeks should undergo a 14-day homebound or concentrated isolation.

The headquarters asked everyone entering or exiting the country to declare their health status honestly. Those who conceal or make false statements on the health declaration form and cause the spread of the virus will face legal consequences.

Passengers report their health status at Shanghai Customs. (Photo: CGTN)

All inbound flights at Beijing Daxing International Airport have been transferred to Beijing Capital International Airport as Beijing steps up efforts in minimizing the risk of imported COVID-19 cases, local authorities said on Saturday.

Starting from March 10, Beijing Capital International Airport has designated Zone D of Terminal 3 as a special zone for inbound flights from countries and regions with serious coronavirus situations, said Zhao Ying, deputy general manager of Beijing Capital International Airport Co., Ltd., at a press conference in Beijing.

All passengers disembarking from such flights need to undergo comprehensive health checks, including temperature screening and information inspection at T3-D, a designated isolated area measuring 100,000 square meters.

After witnessing the rigorous inspection and control measures, especially the detailed deployment of flight CA936 at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, many Chinese netizens have expressed their trust and relief.

Netizens' comments on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media. (Screenshot: CGTN)

@Jiezuo: The most reassuring thing is that the remaining 246 passengers also have measures in place.

@Yiruhaitanghongtou: Seeing such detailed notice, we learned that the epidemic prevention situation cannot be eased. The frontline staff and related departments are very efficient so that the people can rest assured.

@Yueyeyuedu: The closed-loop control makes people feel safe.

@Mentone: When you guys are in place, we can rest assured. Let's fight together.

Control of imported cases now crucial: China Daily editorial

A staff member wears protective gear at the temperature check station of the arrival hall in Beijing Capital International Airport, March 4, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

That the total number of imported cases of novel coronavirus infections increased to 111 by Saturday points to the necessity for China to further intensify the screening of travelers from overseas.

Of the 20 new confirmed infections on Saturday, 16 were from overseas, the highest since the epidemic spread to other parts of the world. European countries in particular, are witnessing more new infections than China, where the outbreak has been basically brought under control.

Given that an increasing number of overseas Chinese may hope to return either to seek better and effective treatment or just to escape the danger of being infected overseas, cases of infections from overseas will very likely be on the increase in the days to come.

The pressure of imported infections is undoubtedly becoming much heavier for China, for its big metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai in particular receive a large number of travelers from overseas each day.

That some have already known that they are infected but deliberately concealed their conditions have added to the difficulty on the part of customs to identify the infected and those who are not diagnosed but have shown symptoms.

Of the 111 imported cases of infections, at least 11 have deliberately told lies about their health condition and some have even failed to quarantine themselves at home but go about here and there, making it quite likely they will have passed the virus to those who have had close contact with them.

It is indeed necessary to punish those who know they are infected or suspect they are for not disclosing the fact, as what they’ve done may quite probably ruin the otherwise sound situation China has achieved in the prevention and control of the virus.

One Chinese city has already announced that anyone coming back from overseas and deliberately holding back his or her health conditions will have to pay for the treatment on his or her own if he or she is infected.

This is indeed necessary. And those whose concealment of their own health conditions has led to other people being infected should not only be held criminally accountable, but also be fined since what they’ve done has caused economic losses to the society.

Beijing Capital International Airport announced on Sunday that all international airlines will land in a special zone, where passengers will be strictly screened. Passengers from these airlines need to understand that tightened measures of control for strict screening can never be overestimated not just for the effective control of the virus but also for the health of passengers themselves.

The tremendous sacrifice Chinese people, those in Wuhan in particular, have made for the containment of the virus should not be wasted. Neither should the great efforts that thousands of medical workers have made and the lives medical workers have lost in saving the lives of those infected.

A good job must be done in preventing the imported cases of infections from passing the virus to others.

Source: By Li Wenfang and ZHANG KUN| chinadaily.com.cn; CGTN; peoplesdaily;

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